Daniel Coyle, co-Author “The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France”

You don’t have to follow professional cycling — heck, you don’t have to know how to ride a bike — to know that Lance Armstrong‘s downfall is is an epic, a Greek tragedy played out in the mountains of France. Armstrong, of course, announced last month he would no longer fight the overwhelming evidence that he systematically used and his the use of performance-enhancing drugs to become the greatest cyclist in the sport’s history. He has since been stripped of his record 7 Tour de France titles, dropped by sponsors like Nike and Oakley, even kicked out of his world-renowned charity Livestrong. So what drives an intense, even obsessed competitor to the point where they’ll do anything to win — and more. Almost no one has looked closer at this issue than Daniel Coyle. Most recently Dan co-wrote “The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France“. Before that, he wrote “Lance Armstrong’s War”, which provided “a hugely insightful look into the often inspiring, always surprising core of a remarkable athlete and the world that shapes him.” Dan is also the author of “The Talent Code”, the New York Times Bestseller that explains new tools with which we can unlock our own talents. (Originally broadcast 10-27-12 on The John Batchelor Show)